Best Travel Tips That Are No Longer Useful

Whenever it’s time to plan another trip, most of us start looking for best travel tips for a given destination. Internet is full of great advice how to plan your perfect holiday. However, you should be cautious about what you read online. Travel articles promising best travel tips are not always correct. It’s important to remember that sometimes things change and every destination is different.
Let’s look at some popular best travel tips and why they are no longer true.

Best travel tips: always buy your flights on Tuesdays

This tip used to be very useful quite a while ago. Nowadays there is no need to wait for a special date. Since so many low cost airlines are in the market now, it’s wiser to subscribe to their newsletter and monitor prices in social media. Airlines are setting adjusting prices daily and you might be lucky to catch some really good deals at virtually any time of the week. We recommend using airline search engines like Skyscanner because they provide search results from various airlines. Search option “Search everywhere” may give you some great ideas for your next budget friendly holiday.

Book your accommodation away from tourist paths

Sounds like a great advice, but be cautious about where you stay. Even if it’s a nice neighborhood with good transport connections, you will still need to waste time and money to get where you need. Moreover, coming back late may cause additional difficulties (metro working hours etc). Instead, consider staying in a walking distance from your main points of interest. Just be aware of tourist traps!

Best restaurants are always crowded

An old saying recommends only visiting restaurants that look full. The food is better plus people won’t go there if it’s bad. Good advice, except that it’s WRONG! Cafes around major tourist sightseeing spots are always full. Sadly, they are usually tourist traps. Hungry visitors fall for the large signs and waiters speaking their language and inviting them in. If you can, say away from them and ask locals for their favorite places to eat.

Visit tourist spots early in the morning

This suggestion would have been great if you were the only one doing it. Sadly though, same recommendation is being followed by millions of other tourist so you will ghardly be alone near a popular site. The trick is not to go early, but rather go when no one else goes. This might mean visiting in the middle of the day when the sun is high. Even better suggestion would be visiting off season.

No need to buy bus or train tickets, you won’t get a fine because you are foreigner

This old myth is surprisingly alive these days. Tourists tend to think that because they are just visiting, nobody is going to bother them and they can ride for free. Well, this sounds too good to be true. In fact, you may get in big trouble. Your fine will be in the system and next time you apply for visa, there may be consequences. You are much better off paying the fine straight away. Instead of creating all this mess and feeling stressed, do some research and find out how to save on local transport.

Street food will get you food poisoning

many people are anxious about street food quality and therefore prefer to sit down at a nice restaurant. The truth is – restaurant kitchen can be even worse than a street stall. In case of street food you can actually see what’s being prepared. Moreover, it’s part of local culture and therefore a must for the perfect experience.

Money belt is a must in any big city

Some people get overwhelmed with security issues and fantasize of big cities as cradle of thievery. Here is the truth – locals wear their wallets just like anyone else. The trick is not to display your belongings and dress down. Too much attention may get you in trouble, but it’s also easily avoidable with blending in.

Store your luggage at local supermarket

If you only have few hours to check out the new city, store your luggage at local supermarket. This used to be true, but nowadays large shops are mostly located outside the city center. If you really need to store your luggage for a few hours, consider leaving it at train stations. Usually there are storage slots with coin machines.

Great article! 🙂 I keep hearing these on repeat, but I never follow these tips and haven´t had any trouble in my excessive traveling! For instance, I hate money belts, even if I have one, I just end up carrying it around in my purse. My husband who doesn´t use any bag or anything appreciates it though. I prefer to divide money and cards in smaller portions between the two of us…also, restaurants in the downtown? They are usually the priciest ones. I prefer street food all the way 🙂